In West New York, where two cases of the H1N1 virus were confirmed at a preschool last week, a third case was confirmed. The girl came down with the illness at the same time as the other two, but the results from the test just came back today, said West New York Schools Superintendent Robert Van Zanten. A test on a fourth child came back negative, he said.

Pretty Face Preschool, at 532 62nd St., has been closed since May 18 and has been thoroughly disinfected, Van Zanten said. It will re-open Monday.

The second case is in Guttenberg, where a 12-year-old boy contracted the virus, according to a news release from Guttenberg Superintendent of Schools Joseph Ramos. Officials refused to say where the boy goes to school but did say he "observed home isolation precautions" and that the school was "disinfected over the holiday weekend as an extra precaution."

The school was not closed because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against it, Ramos said in the release. He stressed that it is "vitally important" for parents to keep children with flu-like symptoms home.

Public health officials are also reminding the public to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the crook of the elbow and frequent and through hand washing.

Although the H1N1 virus is more contagious than seasonal flu because people lack immunity to it, it is not any more dangerous. Most cases are mild, officials say.

Other confirmed Hudson County cases include a 16-year-old girl who lives in Kearny but attends Fair Lawn High School and seven cases at Robert Waters School in Union City.

As of yesterday afternoon there were 75 confirmed cases in New Jersey. Monmouth has the second highest concentration of cases with 11 confirmed diagnoses, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.